Ice-cutting machine.



R. W. RICH.

ICE CUTTING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 4, 1914. i Llg, Patented Jan. 25, 1916.

ZSHETS-SHEETII.

C@ IIIIIIIIIIIINHIII- I Il: wb FIIIIJIAIIIIIIIIIIIIIIJIH NNI. l I I I .BIIII Kuri III III n Nm? I I I QI.

, w SN IWIHHITI M QI -ICI RM W ITMTILIHI IIINN @www R. W. RICH.

ICE CUTTING MACHINE. APPLICATION FILED IuNE 4. I9I4.

www5.

Patented @11.25, 1916.

UNTTED TTES FATFLN T @FFTE RICHARD W. RICH, 0F WORCESTER, MASSACHUSETTS.

ICE-CUTTING- MACHNE.

Application filed .l une 4l, 1914.

To all whom z'v' may concern.'

Be it known that l, RICHARD WV. RICH, a citizen of the United States, residing at Worcester, in the county of Worcester and StateA of Massachusetts, have invented a new and useful Ice-Cutting Machine, of which the following is a specification.

.This invention relates to an ice cutting machine and particularly to certain improvements in an ice cutting mm hine of the type shown in my pending application, lSerial No.'742,882, filed January 18, 1913.

Tn the machine shown in the prior application ll have provided a plurality of sets of saws, each set being positioned and operated at right angles to the preceding set. l have also provided guides for determining the line of travel of the floats and feeding devices for movingthe floats or portions.

thereof past the several sets of saws. No provision 1s made, however, 1n my earlier vmachine for moving the floats from one .feeding 'device to the neXt or for changing the direction'of travel of thel floats, this operation. belng performed by manual labor.

. -llt is the'principa-l object of my present invention to provide automatic devices for i performing this latter operation, thus eliminating a large part of the manual labor required to operate my earlier machine.

The former method -of moving the ice necessitated its manipulation in large floats and-accordingly I could not completely sever the cakes but was obliged to leave webs joiningthe cakes together until the Hoat had nearly completed its course through/the machine. It was then necessary to employ a number of bar men to sever the vfloats intov separate cakes.

The provlsion 1n my. present machine'of automatic devices for movlng the ice permits me to completely sever the ice at each.

cut as the automatic devices are soarranged that a vplurality of separate cakes may be transported and manipulated as an unit. The resulting'elimination of the bar men still further reduces the element of manual labor and it also avoids the 'damage to the ice which is unavoidable when bars are used to separate the cakes.

Further objects of my invention will appear in the followingvspecification and 'will Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 25., 1911.6.

serial No. 843,069.

be more specifically pointed out in the appended claims.

A preferred form of my invention is shown in the drawings in which- Figure 1 is a diagrammatic view showing the arrangement of my complete machine; Figs. 2, 3 and l show the float of ice at three different stages in its passage through the machine; Fig. 5 is a detail plan view showing a portion of themachine on an enlarged scale; Fig. 6 is a side elevation of the mechanism for driving the saws; Fig. T is a side elevation of the mechanism for driving the main feed shaft; Fig. 8 is a detail view of a portion of the conveying chains; and Fig. 9 is a plan view of certain of the driving parts shown in Fig. 1, drawn on enlarged scale.

As the proportions and arrangements of the several parts of my machine will varyT to a certain extent inaccordance with the, size of the float and thenumber of cakes into .which it is sub-divided, ll have shown in The floats are manually moved into posi- A tion within the guideway 10 and are thereafter moved forward by the feeding chains 11. These chains are shown in detail in Fig. 8 and are provided at intervals with spurs 12 projecting therefrom. These spurs advance the float A (Fig. 2) to a line of saws 13 Figs. 1 and 6). mounted upon a shaft 14; and driven by a motor M. A second line of saws 15 (Fig. 6) is mounted upon a shaft 16 also driven' b v the motor M.

While the connections between the motor and the saw shafts may be of any conven- .ient form. l have indicated a simple -arrangement in Figs. 5 and 6 in which the upper saw shaft 14 carries a spur gear 17 meshing with a gear 18 mounted upon the motor shaft m. The lower .shaft 16 carries a sprocket 19 and is driven by a chain 20 from a sprocket wheel 21 upon the shaft m. ln this manner the lines of saws are driven in opposite directions and each cuts against the chains 11,

In its passage by the saws the float A is 'partially supported and laterally directed by a guideway comprising a slatted bottom f 22 (Fig. 5) and sides 23. The slats of the bottom are arranged to allow the conveyer chains to operate through openings between the slats and themachine as a whole isV so positioned with relation to the level of the water and the thickness of the ice that the float A is raised only slightly above its normal floating position as it passes alo-ng vthe guideway.

The chains 11 are driven by sprockets 24 (Fig. 5) fixed upon a transverse shaft 25 having a beveled gear 26 secured to one end thereof. The gear 26 meshes with a beveled pinion 27 upon a shaft 28 which is driven in turn through a pair of beveled gears 29 and 30 (Fig. l) from the main shaft 31.

'The shaft 31 may beprovided with a sprocket 32 (Fig. 7) driven by a lchain 33 from a driving sprocket 34 secured to a countershaft 35. The counter shaft 35 is connected by a friction clutch 36 (Figs. 1

and 9.) of any ordinary type with a cone -pulley 37 loosely mounted on the shaft 35. 'The pulley 37 is belt driven from a cone pulley 38, mounted on a second countershaft 39 which also carries a gear 40 meshing with a pinion 41 on the shaft p of a mo-tor P.

'W ith these connections it will be seen that the feeding chains 11 may be driven at any one of several different speeds and that they :may be started and stopped at will by the use of the` friction, clutch 36. rlhis clutch also provides a yielding connection in case the operation of 'the feeding chains is obstructed.

ifhile the arrangements for driving the 'shaft 31 and the chains 11, as herein dee strips B are then pushed forward over a set 'of conveyer chains 50, which are driven by sprockets mounted upon an extension of the main shaft 31. At their rear ends the chains pass over the sprockets 51 (Fig. 5) which i are loosely mounted upon the shaft25 and are freely rotatable thereon.

` inspection of Fig. 1 will vshow that the shaft 31 rotates at twice the speed of the shaft 25 and as the chain driving sprockets are of the same size it follows that the conveyer chains 50 travel at twice the speed of the feeding chains 11.

A second set of conveyer chains is mounted to run at right angles to the `chains 50, being driven by sprockets secured to a shaft 61 mounted at right angles to the main shaft 31 and driven at the same speed by beveled gears 62 and 63. At their rear ends the chains 60 pass over sprockets upon an idle shaft 64:.

A second set of feeding chains is mounted in advance of thev chains 60 and is ldriven by sprockets upon a shaft 71 which is operated through beveled gears 72 and 73 from the shaft 31. The gear 72 is twice the diameterl of the gear 73 and the shaft 71 thus rotates at one-half of the speedof the shaft 31, the speed of the shaft 71 being the same as thatof the shaft 25.

rlhe feeding chains 70 feed the strips B past a second set of saws 7 4, comprising upper and lower lines of saws corresponding to the saws 13 and 15 in the first mentioned set.

This set of saws'is driven by a motor M,"

however, to the fact that the chains 50travel at twice the speed of the feeding chains 11.

Each chain 50 carries two spurs 52 (Fig. 8) separated from each other by twice thel width of the float A. or .by 560 As these spurs are separated by twice the space, but also travelt twice the speed of the spurs 12 on the/chains 11, it will be evident that one set of spurs 52- will come into position' as each float is advanced overv the chain 50 by the slow moving spurs 12 on the chains 11 and that the Hosts as, they are moved forward by the spurs v52 will-be separated by a space between each two fioats equal to the width 0f a float.

The conveyer chains 60 are similarly provided with two spurs upon each chain separated by twice the width. of the ioat or 560. These chains move at the same speed as the chains 50.. 1n this manner the chains 50 are able to advance the float A after it has 'been divided into strips B and to position it over the chains 60, which then move the float at right angles to its previous line of travel. The spaced relation'of the ioats enables this fioat to move transversely out of the path of the succeeding Hoat as that oat is projected over the fchalns 60.

The feeding chains 70 are each provided with similar spurs separated byV intervals oi 280 orthe width of a float. .These chains travel at one half of the speed of the chains 60 and accordingly advance a float 280 the main shaft 31.

meeste taken up by the next set of spurs on thechains 70. By this disposition of driving spurs and arrangement of relative speeds, l

am enabled to advance the floats in' spaced relation while changing. their direction of travel and also to present the iioats in a substantially continuous line to the saws 74.

ln advance ofthe =chains l provide a set of chains (Figi 1) driven by sprockets upon a shaft 81 carrying a pinion 82, meshing with a beveled gear 83. upon the end of in the selected combination the gears 82 and83 bear the ratio of l to 5.-

Assuming a travel ofone inch per second for the chains 1l and 70 and of two inches per second for the chains 50 and 60, the chains 80 will have a speed of ten inches v per second. These chains each carry a single spur and are of such length that this spur comes into operative position as each one of theV strips B is projected over the chains 80 by the spurs upon the chains 70. The strips B are thus advanced in spaced relation by the chains 80 and are projected over a chain .running at right angles thereto and driven by a sprocket on a shaft 91 geared to a shaft 92 which in turn is driven by the main shaft 31. rEhe shaft 92 is driven at twice'the speed of the shaft 31 and.

the shaft91 is driven at twice the. speed of the shaft 92, this combination giving the chain 90 a travel of 8 per second.- 'llhis Ichain carries two spurs which may conveniently be separated by something more than the length of a strip or 320".

A Set ofl two'chains 100 is positioned in advance of the chain 90 and is Idriven by sprockets upon a shaft 101 driven in turn by beveled gearsy from the shaft 92. rlhese gears bear ythe ratio of 7 to 4 lgiving the chains a travel of seven inches per secondf" The latter chains carry the double cakes C past a pair of saws 102, only the upper one of which is shown. These saws are driven from a motor M2, the driving connections again being similar to those already described for the motor M.

The relative speeds of the chains 8O and 90 are such that the strips B are advanced in spaced relation by the chains 80 and are each thereafter moved at right angles to the previous direction of travel with suii'icient rapidity to clear the next following strip B.

The speeds of the chains ,90 and 100 are so proportioned that each strip B will overtake the preceding strip as it is projected over the chain 100 so that the strips B composed of double blocks C will be fed in a substantially continuous line past the saws 102 and will be thereby separated into blocks D, each measuring 20 wide by 28A long. After passing the saws 102, the blocks are delivered upon a conveyer indicated diagrammatically' at 110, which may be of any usual type and operates to transfer the separated cakes to storage. 'u

in order to keep the severed strips or cakes in alinement as they are" transferred from one set of saws to the next, l provide the spring-pressed guides 120 shown in Fig. 5. 'lhese guides are mounted upon one side-of the guideway and press the ice yieldingly against the opposite side of the guideway, thereby alining the cakes and preventing their displacement during transfer.

In my previous application I'have shown similar guides for controlling theice as it passes the saws and such guides mayv also be used in my present machine but have been omitted to avoid complications in the draw-- that all of the conveying and feeding chains shall lbe driven from a'single. source of power as it is necessary that1 the relative speed of the chains and the relativetspacing and relation of the several spurs be strictly maintained. rlhe speed of the conveying and feeding. mechanism as a whole may be varied as desired by shifting the belt upon the cone pulleys 37- and 38, and the conveying and feeding devices may be stopped and started at will by the use of the friction clutch 36.

While l have described my invention in the proportions requisite for operating with a given size of float and cake, it will be evident that it is equally applicable to any other desired sizes, it being merely necessary to vary the operative speeds and spacings of the various chains and the number of the saws to correspond tothe sizes selected.

F or purposes of illustration, l have found it convenient to show the .several sets `of IL..

lio

pressed in the claims and l' do not wish to 13o ge limitedI to the details herein disclosed, ut

Vhat do claim is:

l. An ice cutting machine having, in combination,l two sets of saws arranged on shafts at right angles to each other, separate means for feeding a float of ice past each set of saws in a direction parallel to the line of cut of each set, and additional means to transfer the fioat automatically from the first feeding means to the second feeding means by successive movements at right angles to each other and in predetermined timed relation to each other, whereby the direction of travel of said float may be changed 90 without interference of successive floats. n

An ice cutting machine having, in combination, two sets of saws arranged on shafts 'at right angles to each other, separate means for feeding a float of ice past each set of saws in a direction parallel to the line of cut of each set, and additional means to transfer the float automatically from the first feeding means to the second feeding means by successive movements at right anglesto each other and in predetermined timed relation to eachother, said additional means comprising two separate sets of conveying devices intermediate said sets of feeding means, said two' sets of conveying devices operating at right angles to each other and being each provided with float-engaging devices mounted and actuatedI to move in predetermined spaced relation with` v each other, whereby the direction of travel of said oat may be changed 90 without interference of successive floats with each other. y

3. An ice cutting machine having, in combination,-a set of'saws to which floats of ice may be presented ina continuous line, a second set of saws operating atright angles to the first set, separate means to feed the floats past each set of saws, conveying means formed in two parts, and means to drive all of said feeding and said conveying means at predetermined relative speed ratios, the

. first part of said conveying means being lonmeans and the secondfeeding .means being driven in such relative speed ratios that the yioats presented in spaced relation to said thereon spaced twice as far apart, a second conveying means operating at' right-angles to the first conveying means and with the same speed and spacing, a second set of saws, and feeding means for said second set having the same speed and spacing as the first feeding means.

5. An ice cutting machine having, in combination, two sets of saws operating at rightangles to each other, feeding means for each set ofv saws, means to convey the ice from one feeding means to the other, said conveying means being made in two parts, driving mechanism, and'power transmitting devices between said mechanism, said separate feeding means and said separate conveying means effective to drive said feeding means and said conveying means at predetermined relativel Aspeeds fixed in such ratios that the line of travel of the ice'may be .changed 90 and that the ice will pass each-set fof saws in a' substantially continuous line. l'

6. An ice cutting machine having, in combination, two sets of saws mounted on shafts at right angles to each other, vseparate devices for feeding a. fioat, of iceto each set of sawsiii a direction'lpa'rallel to the line of cut, a two-part conveyer for automatically changing the direction of travel of said float by 90 and for transferring the float from the first set of feeding devices to the second, and laterally spring-pressed guiding members engaging said float 'substantially throughout its transfer movement, and effective to prevent separation of the. severed sections of the float while on said conveyer, whereby said sections are retained in fixed relation to each other.

In testimony whereof l have hereunto set my hand, in the presence of two subscribing witnesses. f 1

RXCHARD' W. RCH.

Witnesses:

CHAs. T. HAWLEY, C. FoRREs'r Wasson.-

iot 

